These books are lead generation magnets. They’re written to educate the reader just enough to sign up for a free seminar or contact Jim for a second opinion on their retirement plan. The books pre-qualify and pre-sell the reader, allowing Jim to maintain a nice close ratio on those calls.

In the video above, I critique the forward for Jim’s next book, entitled, The 5 Greatest Tax-Saving Strategies for Protecting Your Family from the New Tax Law.

The purpose of the forward is to hook the reader and get them to read the book. The better the copy is, the more people will read the book. And the more people reading the book, the more money Jim makes.

Watch the video to discover three ways to edit your sales copy for increased conversion.

Way #1 — Make the copy easier to read and understand.

Way #2 — Make the copy more interesting to the prospect.

Way #3 — Make the copy more believable.

Watch the video and then riddle me this:

Would you like to have an expert look over your sales copy and make conversion enhancing suggestions like you see in this video?

Nice or Rough PRINCIPLE #1: Disclosure

But no matter how you slice it, the impact of revealing flaws is surprisingly powerful for such a simple and straightforward strategy.

For instance, let’s say you go to buy a new car and the salesman immediately tells you about the whine in the transmission.

You, on the other hand, don’t hear a thing on the test drive.

Yet the salesman insists it’s there.

And after straining your ears (and having auditory hallucinations) you actually DO hear it.

You’re stunned that he actually pointed it out to you, even after he tells you about the research he did on that model that shows the transmission runs between 75 and 100,000 miles after the whine is first heard.

And how do you react after that amazing display of sales craft?

Like putty in his hands.

Your B.S. detector has been tucked in and put to bed.

Because anyone who’d be THAT honest, has gotta be on the up and up.

So is that a nice or rough principle?

Depends on how you look at it.

If it’s calculated to hide more serious problems… I’d classify it more on the rough side.

If it’s honest, even though you understand the impact of using this kind of disclosure, you’re leaning more toward nice.

Let us know what you think in the comments below.

But here’s the thing.

Knowing what you’re doing and WHY you’re doing it is more important than anything.

It’s also why it’s critical you have a checklist for your copywriting and infuse it with layered and integrated persuasion, or hire someone who knows what they’re doing.

Disclosure works because it assuages our fears in a world where most of us are always looking for ‘the catch’.

If you reveal ‘the catch’ up front, you allow your prospects to trust you.

It lets them relax and take in what you’re presenting.

Which means they’re more likely to become a long-term customer (more on this in #3).

And is it a nice and easy, or rough principle?

Depends on how you use it, but give me YOUR comments below.

Nice or Rough PRINCIPLE #2: The Dangerous Power of Storytelling

You can’t throw a rock without hitting a marketer preaching about the selling power of storytelling.

They’re right, of course, IF the story captures your reader’s immediately, is well crafted, gripping, cohesive, believable, creates an emotional bond with your prospect or customer, and furthers the sale.

And if you have any doubt that you MUST be great at storytelling, think of the greatest persuasion artists… both positive and negative.

I’ll focus on the negative here, since it’s more sensational, but remember that storytelling works both ways.

For instance, on the negative side there’s Bernie Madoff, Charles Ponzi, and Jim Jones…

… And someone you’ve probably never heard of, but one of the greatest storytellers (and swindlers) of all time.

Recognize him in this pic? I doubt it.

He was operating back in 1822 when he sold “government bonds” to British nobility for his INVENTED country of Poyais, supposedly located off the coast of Honduras.

He even created a constitution, claimed he’d been appointed Cazique (some kind of bogus prince), and produced maps of this non-existent island.

Yet when 200 of the 250 ‘colonists’ DIED after sailing to his fantasy island, Gregor MacGregor was undeterred. He even tried to run the same kind of scam in France, where he was arrested, tried, and acquitted.

Eventually he moved to Venezuela, where he was welcomed as a hero. MacGregor died in Caracas, in 1845, aged 58, and was buried with full military honors in Caracas Cathedral because he spun such an unbelievable story.

The point?

Powerful storytelling is a uber powerful and potentially dangerous tool.

So use it for good… don’t dabble on the dark side.

And if you want to improve your storytelling skills, DON’T pride yourself on reading only business books.

There’s brilliant persuasion going on around you all the time… that you can incorporate into your marketing for FREE!

And just like you can use fire to turn iron into steel or cook up a feast, you can also use it to burn houses down. It’s up to you.

Same rules apply with your marketing.

And just so we’re clear, sometimes you have to burn houses down to make way for something else.

The nice approach isn’t for everyone or even necessarily the ‘best’.

If you’re on trial for a crime you didn’t commit, you’re not looking for a ‘nice’ attorney.

Likewise not everyone responds to the same approach.

Oprah’s hardcore fans aren’t tuning in to Howard Stern and vice versa, but neither is hurting for a way to pay their bills.

It’s not about right and wrong, it’s about who you are, your personality, and your target market.

Your thoughts are welcome in the comments below, so fire away!

Nice or Rough PRINCIPLE #3: Your Sparkling (?) Personality

Anyone can make a sale.

And as you know, the point of the first sale (if you have a real business) is to get a customer.

Then the real question becomes, “Can you KEEP a customer… and for how long?”

Usually, if your products are fabulous, you can keep a customer for a year or two.

But the products by themselves have limited attraction value.

And constantly creating new ones is a challenge.

But when they’re tied to a fascinating personality, customer longevity is multiplied and magnified.

People stay tuned in because they want to know about YOU!

By the way, I give credit to Dan Kennedy, for taking me more deeply into this concept.

By example, Dan says:

“Marvel kicked DC comic’s butt in the marketplace. Started late, zoomed past them. Why? Their characters are much more complex. The Spiderman character, the Daredevil character, the Hulk character – these are much more complex characters. Not so much in the movies you see on the screen or the cartoons you see on Saturday but if you actually read the comic books, these are emotionally complex characters. People essentially have to be into…

“What will this person do next?”

“And if they aren’t interested in what you’re going to do next, you can’t sustain interest in yourself at all.”

Now don’t think this is only for information products.

That’s falling for the old profit killer: “But my business is different.”

With a bit of imagination, you can do this ANYWHERE.

In fact, it’s so important, we’re going to focus on this topic in just a few days, with examples from the media, business, and with practical things you can do.

So stay tuned and watch your emails (or we may have to be a little rough on you).

Nice or Rough PRINCIPLE #4: Specificity

Because people BELIEVE specifics.

And we’ve all heard it from the legendary Zig Ziglar…

“Use meaningful specifics instead of wandering generalities.”

So if you’re talking about how many people attended your seminar, include the number in each profession, the age range, the male to female ratio, etc.

It will not only make for more interesting reading, but give you a BIG jump in believability.

If you’re talking about how many testimonials you have in your files… BE SPECIFIC.

I’ve seen Jay Abraham use exactly this strategy with both his case studies and testimonials.

He’s got massive lists with the actual number at the top.

Something like, “941 Case Studies from 298 Different Professions.”

So there’s a preponderance of proof… and it’s indisputable.

Now go research the facts and figures and use them liberally in your copy.

DON’T use generalities or people will think it’s the usual marketing puffery.

Nice or Rough PRINCIPLE #5: The Intangibles

If you’re an EMAIL ALCHEMY member, you know about the “hot hook extraction worksheet” that identifies the fascinating elements of a product or a business or a person.

Why is this information so important?

To ramp up sales, of course.

Because “the intangibles” are overlooked by most marketers, and yet they can hold the key to astonishing sales.

For instance, do you remember the oft-sighted example of Claude Hopkins and Schlitz beer.

The beer company was suffering at somewhere like #10 in sales in the U.S.

So they called in the brilliant and famous Claude Hopkins to save the day.

Hopkins toured the plant and asked a million questions.

He found that the beer was filtered through white-wood pulp, that every pipe and pump was cleaned twice a day, and that every bottle was cleaned 4 times before being filled.

Plus, the artesian well that provided the water was 4,000 feet deep, even though the brewery was on the shore of then-clean Lake Michigan.

Finally, he went to the lab where the mother yeast was the result of 1,200 experiments, to create superior flavor.

Hopkins was astonished by how fascinating the process was, and asked why Schlitz didn’t say anything about it in their advertising.

They were too close to the situation and said that all beer was basically brewed the same way.

Hopkins replied:

“Yes, but the first one to tell the public about this process will gain a big advantage.”

Then Hopkins created a campaign that told the fascinating and in-depth story of beer brewing, and Schlitz rocketed to #1 in sales in six short months!

It’s what you can do too if you dig deep into your own story.

Because there IS fascinating background and development for ALL products and services that make them much more appealing to your prospects and customers.

By the way, you can download Claude Hopkins’ book, “Scientific Advertising,” at multiple links online, since it’s in the public domain. Here’s one of them:

Video Transcript

In case you don’t know… whitemail is the various emails that people send in, commenting on this or that… questions, compliments, complaints, and so on…

And some lady writes in and she says, that what I’m teaching about writing emails and building lists is demonic. I kid you not. That is her word: Demonic.

She says I’m showing people how to prey on sin and human weakness. That I’m encouraging my students to manipulate people to get them to do things they otherwise wouldn’t.

And that anybody who follows my advice is going straight to hell.

Talk about fan mail!

Of course, there is some truth in what the lady is saying…

My teachings are manipulative. And they do get people to try new things they otherwise wouldn’t.

But what’s wrong with that?

Every mother manipulates her baby — if she wants it to live.

Every time you go to the bank, you manipulate the teller.

When you go to a restaurant — if you’re smart — you manipulate the waiter into giving you better service … and the waiter manipulates you into coughing up a bigger tip.

And the teachers in school manipulate the students into learning to read and to write — at least the good ones do.

Life is one GREAT BIG MANIPULATION!

Marketing is manipulation.

Does that mean we’re all going to hell?

I think not.

Persuasion is just a tool. And like any other tool, can be used to destroy or create.

Take a hammer for instance. You can use it as a murder weapon, or to build a house. Does that make you a bad person for going into a hardware store to buy one?

Of course not!

You’re either a psycho killer or a handy person to have around… and the hammer has nothing to do with the distinction.

Judging from this lady’s reference to “hell” and “demonic” and “sin,” I’d wager she’s under the spell of the biggest and perhaps most destructive manipulation of them all.

The truth is: whether you appeal to vice or virtue in your sales copy has nothing to do with whether you go to hell or to heaven. It’s the intention in back of it that counts.

If you feel your best chance of getting your prospect to take an action that’s in his own best interest means making him feel a little envious, angry, greedy, or guilty, then I think it’s your duty to push those buttons.

Persuasion is full of such ethical questions…

If in your sales copy you step deliberately into a persona that mirrors the likes, dislikes, beliefs, feelings and frustrations of your prospect… or one your prospect is likely to admire, identify with, and want to emulate… is that manipulative?

Guilty as charged… but how else will you create rapport and guide him toward a better life?

People instinctively, automatically, and reflexively follow people they like.

Create that relationship in your sales copy and your marketing, and you can lead your prospects in just about any direction you like.

And we’ll get back to the story in a minute… but I just wanted to stop and drill into each one of these points. I did promise you 5 Email Copywriting Formulas, didn’t I?

Email Copywriting Formula #1 — C-A-S-T-E

I’m talking about the fact that if you can get people to like you, they’re more likely to get on your email list, and if the emails you send people make them like you even more, they’re more likely to buy from you.

And so here’s the first formula. I’m going to break it down quickly and then give you an example of how you can use this to better monetize your list…

I call it the CASTE system for the digital world, which unlike the Hindu caste system is the great equalizer because anybody, regardless of station in life can build a large and lucrative email list with this.

C stands for COMMONALITY.

In a previous career I carried a bag, and my job was to finesse my way into a business with the goal of loading that business up with computer and software gadgetry and related services. And the first thing I would do was carefully examine the prospect’s habitat…

I’d learn whatever I could about the person online, I’d survey the cars in the parking lot … the décor in the lobby… the desk and the walls in their office… looking for common interest…

… Something that I could converse with them about that would build a genuine bridge of rapport… whether it be a picture of his kids or a stuffed fish behind the desk or an award or trophy of some kind…

… Why?

Because we like people who are like us.

A stands for AFFINITY.

Humans are highly social creatures, and we tend to band together around various causes, ideologies, allegiances, common interests, and so on. And we derive a great deal of our identity from our affiliation with those groups.

There is “us” and there is “them.” There are insiders and there are outsiders.

And so if you want to monetize your email list, then you want to be, not just an insider… but an advocate for the group against outsiders (or abstract forces) that threaten the cause… or challenge the ideology… or seek to destroy the group entirely.

S stands for STATUS.

Everybody wants to feel important. Everybody wants to rise in the pecking order.

And we LOVE people who make a habit of making us feel special and significant, smarter, stronger, more compassionate, more sophisticated, and superior to other people in some way. It’s baked right into our DNA.

T stands for TRANSPARENCY.

What do best friends do?

They confide in one another. They tell each other personal secrets about things they’ve done they wish they hadn’t. Embarrassing things. Humiliating failures.

And E stands for EMPATHY.

All of us are walking around with a deep intrinsic, instinctive and unconscious desire, and that is to feel understood. To feel that the person we’re dealing with knows how we feel, and why we feel the way we do.

OK, so here’s an example of the CASTE system at work in an email. This is an email that sells teaching aids to special education teachers.

Subject Line:Read This If You Love Your Students

Dear ~Contact.FirstName~,

Despite the rewards… committed caring and sacrifice can take a heavy toll. Status statement — IF you’re one of the committed, caring ones, and you love your students.

So you have to be a little careful if you love your students as much as we special-ed professionals do. Commonality statement — I am like you.

Because there are few things more demanding than working in the classroom, pouring out our hearts and souls for our special needs kids.

Hi, it’s Krystie Yeo again, to make your life easier.

And frankly, you’re not human if a million-repetitions-a day doesn’t wear you down. Empathetic statement — I know how you feel.

Then there are the sudden disruptive behaviors that throw your classroom into instant turmoil.

But if our jobs weren’t tough enough already, there are the inevitable snarky and insensitive remarks from ignorantly cruel kids, parents, and even other teachers. Affinity statement — us against them.

That’s why I was in danger of burning out a few years ago.

I was trying to do everything myself.

But I didn’t have to… and it was unhealthy!Transparency statement — I’m far from perfect, and here’s why that’s a benefit to you. You make your skeletons dance, turning your own failings or even the shortcomings of your product or service, into reasons to buy from you.

Who the email is from is just as important as the message contained.

So there’s the CASTE system in action, for rapid rapport building and bonding with your email list, getting them to fall in love with you and even go into withdrawal symptoms when they don’t hear from you often enough.

Now let’s get back to the story…

When you use metaphor or analogy to re-frame something… perhaps you reframe something the prospect finds frightening, as exciting …

Or you make something objectionable, seem agreeable …

Or something dull and uninteresting suddenly becomes fascinating …

Is that manipulative?

It is… but how else will you make the mundane magical to draw your reader in?

How else will you make the unfamiliar easily understood so he can embrace it?

Email Copywriting Formula #2 — S-A-M

The human mind thinks in relative terms. Without contrast and comparison, there is no meaning.

And when confronted with a new idea, we instinctively, automatically, and reflexively look for a handy little existing pigeonhole in which to stick that new idea.

S stands for SIMILE.

And basically what you’re saying is “this is like that,” comparing one thing with another, amplifying or diminishing its importance or twisting the meaning in the comparison…

As example:

I really thought you could use this report because there’s nothing more embarrassing than making the most elementary mistakes in front of people you’re trying to impress.

In fact, using the wrong word is like going on stage with mustard on your shirt, your fly down, or toilet paper stuck to your shoe.You see the simile?

You don’t notice but everyone else is snickering.

A, stands for ANALOGY.

Not just a little word bomb, but an extended contrast or comparison.

In his entire lifetime, world-renowned artist Vincent Van Gogh sold only one painting.

It was to a friend who paid Vincent a minuscule sum for the piece.

And as strange as it sounds, he was also famous for cutting off his ear and giving it to a prostitute he was in love with.

Obviously, Van Gogh didn’t have an email list or he could have gotten attention a better way.

But despite his lack of internet savvy (and consequent inability to connect with his audience), Van Gogh kept plugging along.

He went on to create over 800 now-priceless works by the end of his life… worth literally hundreds of millions of dollars.

And though he continued to do what he loved, half the time he was starving.

Which is why no one is attending the ‘Van Gogh School of Business’ in Amsterdam.

It goes to show, no matter what you have to offer the world, and as spectacular as it may be, it will not serve you or others if they don’t know about it.

If only Vincent were around today, to attend the ENCORE presentation.

He surely would have had a massive following and reaped the fruits of his passion for painting…

… Before he died!

And while Van Gogh doesn’t get a second kick at the can, YOU DO.

At 2 PM Eastern tomorrow, you can get everything you need to build your email list and finally bring your business dreams to life. Do you see how this analogy reframes something relatively inconsequential — missing a webinar — as something utterly tragic?

And M stands for METAPHOR.

These are a little more subtle. Instead of comparing one thing with another, you basically call the thing you want to reframe, something it isn’t.

Subject Line:
Still Howling at the Moon for Success?

Hey ~Contact.FirstName~,

We’ve all been through it.

You can howl at the moon.

You can tear your hair and gnash your teeth.

You can bang you head against the wall and bash your knuckles.

It doesn’t matter.

Universal principles… call them LAWS… won’t change just because you’re flipping out, worrying, or raging that, “IT SHOULDN’T BE SO!” Of course nobody is really howling at the moon or tearing their hair out or gnashing their teeth or banging their head against the wall or bloodying their knuckles… they’re just fretting a little bit… and these metaphors are amplifying and dramatizing the reader’s pain.

You see how the SAM system works?

If your intentions are honorable, what’s wrong with that?

Or when you force your prospect to associate positive emotions with the purchase of your product or service by stimulating his creative imagination…

Is that manipulative?

Absolutely… but how else will you motivate him to move toward his dreams, and away from his fears?

Email Copywriting Formula #3 — W-H-I-P

The sub-conscious mind literally cannot tell the difference between an imagined and a real experience.

And the sub-conscious mind is where decisions are made. It is a goal-seeking device that automatically moves the person in the direction of his creative imagination.

And there are certain embedded commands that you can use in your emails to activate the creative imagination.

If you do a good job on guiding the imagery… you can create an almost overwhelming desire in your reader to take action…

I call this the WHIP formula. 4 simple command phrases that future pace the reader… forcing him to imagine something pleasurable to move toward (the result of taking some sales-advancing action)… or something painful to move away from (the result of not taking some sales-advancing action).

W stands for “What would it be like…?”

What would it be like to finally reach your ideal weight? Would you do “this”? Or would you do “that”? Who would you do it with? Where would you go?

And you’re basically forcing your prospect to visualize himself involved in some future outcome, whether it be something to move toward, or something to move away from.

H stands for “Have you ever…?”

Have you ever felt, have you ever dreamed, have you ever wished? And you describe the situation.

I stands for “Imagine…”

Imagine you’re dreaming about standing on the edge…

… Of a shark-infested pool.

And for some crazy-dream reason, you’re poised to jump.

But it’s 3 AM and you can’t wake up.

You’re sweating… thrashing… the sheets are soaked and twisted.

You see black fins circling, cutting through the mist over the pool.

Water is lapping at your toes.

You’re starting to lean forward.

“NO!”

Your arms are flailing.

“STOP!”

“DON’T DO IT, YOU IDIOT!”

“WAKE UP!”

But you CAN’T stop and you can’t wake up.

A puppet master is operating your legs.

Now your body’s in the air.

You hear a splash…

YIKES!

TURN ON THE LIGHT!

And… pant… pant… take a breath, it was only a dream.

Yet what you’ve just experienced is like the waking nightmare of supposedly making your business easier on the internet.

And P stands for “Picture yourself…”

This is a pattern interrupting command that instantly dissociates the reader, forcing him to step outside of himself and observe his own behavior and situation from a different vantage point — as he would like it, or as he fears it.

And the effect of all of these WHIPS is a heightened state of suggestibility and open mindedness.

Is there something wrong with planting the positive seeds of hope and empowerment in another person’s mind… or even scaring him out of his wits if necessary, and then coming to the rescue? Not if your intentions are good.

When you use specific words and phrases that are anchored to the emotions that will motivate your prospect to action…

Is that manipulative?

It is… words are symbols — representations of reality. The right ones can trigger a cascade of associated images and emotions in the mind of your reader.

Email Copywriting Formula #4 — K-I-S-S

KEEP. IT. SIMPLE. STUPID.

Words like love, hate, sex, death, kill, joy, and blood are all examples of viscerally charged anchors that create automatic, involuntary associations. Simple, one or two syllable words, often of Anglo-Saxon origin tend to have emotion-inducing power and they inspire action.

Multi-syllabic words like affection, animosity, copulate, obliteration, terminate, exultation, and lineage, most likely of Latin origin… encourage abstraction. Use too many of them and you put the impulsive, action-oriented side of the reader’s mind to sleep.

A single word choice in an email can drastically alter your reader’s internal representations, moving you either closer or farther away from a sale.

Take this string of copy here:

Subject line:
Magical Back Pain Lies?

Hey ~Contact.FirstName~,

When back pain puts you in a vice…

When burning, tingling, or numbness make you limp…

When vicious spasms force you to bend to one side…

… There’s one thing no one needs… and that’s magic. The words force you to become emotionally invested. You can feel the pain and you’re primed for action.

What if it said:

Subject Line:
Fanciful Back Pain Fabrication?

Hey ~Contact.FirstName~,

When spinal aguish limits your mobility, and discomfort and suffering leaves you motionless, and viscous spasms destabilize your posture, there’s one thing no one needs, and that’s deception. Now your intellect is getting involved, you’re thinking instead of feeling…

When you work diligently to select the words that inspire your reader to actually do something as a result of your writing — instead of just thinking about it — is that evil? I don’t think so.

When you tell stories that merely suggest what you want your prospect to think, rather than coming right out and telling him directly…

Is that manipulative?

It’s downright sneaky because when someone thinks they’ve come to a particular conclusion on their own… they bite down hard on that conclusion… they’re like a dog on a bone with that thing.

And that gives them the conviction and confidence they need to take action.

Email Copywriting Formula #5 — C-H-A-N-G-E

Well-told stories throw the reader a little off balance, confusing him temporarily.

He’s like a stranger in a strange land, searching for his bearings in your words. His natural inborn curiosity makes him hyper-aware of them, until the punch line is revealed.

Stories are about change.

And when your prospect experiences a well-told story — a story about you, or about somebody else who underwent some sort of transformation, perhaps a customer or some other third party, whether the story has a happy or sad ending… your prospect projects himself into the action.

He lives the transformation in the theater of his mind. And he will accept the conclusion embedded in the story, as his own.

And these are the essential elements:

C stands for CONFLICT.

Two dogs, one bone. It’s the first question you ask yourself when you’re writing a story: what’s the bone? Because it’s the essence of what makes any story work… whether it be a few lines in an email or a blockbuster mini-series.

You can sum up Game of Thrones in a single sentence: 7 kings, 1 throne.

And conflict doesn’t have to be a conflict between people. It doesn’t have to be man against man, man against the system, or even man against nature. It can be man versus himself, a clash of ideas and emotions.

H stands for HERO.

Who is it going to be? You or your prospect or some other third party (perhaps a customer or client, perhaps even a fictional character).

A stands for ACTION.

What is the hero doing to get what he wants?

N stands for NEW KNOWLEDGE, insight and revelation.

It’s the punch line or moral of the story. How does the hero win, or lose?

G stands for GOAL.

What does the hero want? Either the same thing as your prospect, or something analogous to it.

And E stands for ENEMY.

Who loses when the hero wins, and vice versa?

Subject Line:
How to Get Away With Murder (Free Web Workshop)

~Contact.FirstName~,

The accused sat terrified in the prisoner’s box awaiting the magistrate’s verdict… So there’s obviously a CONFLICT about something. And it’s not clear yet, and as strange as it may sound, the accused is actually the HERO in this story.

“Guilty as charged! Sentenced to hang by the neck until dead!”

The condemned was the town cobbler, who days earlier in a fit of blind rage had brutally bludgeoned one of his customers to death. There’s the ACTION, providing a service, selling stuff, and the GOAL to make money.

Normally a hanging was cause for celebration…

… But there was no cheering from the townspeople today.

One townsman, in fact, mustered some courage and stood up to address the court.

“If Your Honor pleases, you have sentenced to death the town cobbler!

“He’s the only one we’ve got. If you hang him, who will mend our shoes?”

Presently, the whole room came alive with chants for the cobbler’s release.

After restoring order in the court, the magistrate thought for a while, nodded in agreement, and overturned his own verdict.

“What you say is true,” he said.

“Since we have only one cobbler it would be a great wrong against the people to let him die. As there are two haberdashers in the town, let one of them be hanged instead!”

For entrepreneurs, the lesson is clear.

If you can position your business as desirably unique and indispensable to your clients, you can mess up a lot and still make out like a bandit. There’s the NEW KNOWLEDGE and insight.

And if you fail to create this all-important perception, you’re going to get killed. And the ENEMY is ignorance — not having or not communicating or not knowing the importance of, a clear USP, Unique Selling Proposition.

Does captivating a person’s interest in this way make you some kind of horrible person?

Absurd!

Aspiring copywriters often ask me, “How can I become a better storyteller?” I tell them, “Read the great popular novelists — people like Stephen King, John Grisham, and others.

You’re not a novelist, but you can learn a lot about wrapping your selling argument in story from these great writers.”

Milton Erickson, one of the greatest therapeutic storytellers to have ever lived had this advice…

I have actually done this. It’s a fascinating exercise that really does make you aware of the patterns these great storytellers use to formulate a gripping page-turner… and how they set up multiple open loops and close them sequentially to keep you glued to the page.

… I have no qualms about getting up in their grill and telling them flat-out, “You’re wrong!”

I can tell you unequivocally: Long form persuasion is alive and well, and as effective as always.

Even in this “sound bite” age of Snapchat, Instagram, and the Twittersphere.

Forgive me for being blunt, but anyone that thinks long copy is out of fashion probably just isn’t very good at writing it.

If that sounds like you, it’s high time to fix it or get out of the sales business.

“Put a cork in it Gibson dude!”

I recently took a trip to Music City USA (a.k.a Nashville, Tennessee) to buy a new guitar.

Nashville is home to Gibson Guitar, one of the world’s premier guitar manufacturers, with a rich and diverse history. Solid body electric guitars, such as the iconic Gibson Les Paul, are manufactured right in Nashville.

So wanting only the best, I went straight to the source.

Now you may think buying a guitar is easy… look, play, pick, and you’re out the door.

Oh no, no, no… not so fast.

Would you like acoustic or electric?

What body size?

What neck shape?

Heavy or lightweight?

If wood, what type of wood?

If electric, would you prefer single-coil pickups or hum-cancelling double coils?

A solid, hollow, or semi-hollow body?

Modern or vintage sound?

The list goes on, and on, and on.

So what did I do when I was approached by a high spirited and knowledgeable Gibson salesperson named Tyler that shared my deep passion for guitars?

After a few cursory remarks, did I tell him to get lost?

“Put a cork in it Gibson dude, methinks thou dost talk too much!”

Not on your sweet life!

We geeked out like long-lost buddies at a 30-year high school reunion.

“The more you tell, the more you sell.”

I know we chatted it up for well over an hour, but it felt like mere minutes.

I wanted Tyler to tell me everything there was to know about that guitar before I plunked down a giant-sized chunk of change on it.

I wanted to know all about how it was made.

I wanted to know about the carved solid maple top, chambered mahogany back and sides, and beautiful Faded Cherry nitrocellulose lacquer finish.

I wanted to cradle it, feel my fingers on its strings, and strum a few notes… as he told me all about how the legendary Eric Clapton had used a similar 1990 reissue Gibson during his From the Cradle back-to-the-blues tour in 1994-95.

And how Chuck Berry, the granddaddy of rock ‘n’ roll himself, had played his classic tune Sweet Little Sixteen on a Gibson guitar in 1958.

I wanted to pick his brain for every last morsel!

“Salesmanship-in-print…”

The great ad man, John E. Kennedy, coined three words in 1904 that changed the face of advertising.

It’s arguably the single best description ever penned of the true job of sales copy:

“Salesmanship-in-print.”

You see, written sales copy is nothing more than a one-way sales conversation on the physical or electronic page.

In fact, because of the absence of a salesperson, the veteran copywriter knows she must skillfully tackle every feature, every benefit, every possible objection to the sale in the copy… because she knows that no one will be there to do it for her.

If I took everything Tyler told me about that Gibson guitar and put it in a sales letter, it would easily fill 30+ pages of single-spaced copy.

No filler. No garbage. No waste.

Just raw emotion, and a deep passion for guitars.

And anyone that shares that passion for guitars, and is in the market for one, will soak up every last word he’s got to say… guaranteed.

“Marketing is the art of getting people to change their minds – or to maintain their mindsets if they’re already inclined to do business with you. Every little thing you do and show and say – not only your advertising or Web site – is going to affect people’s perceptions of you.”

In addition to the product and offer itself, you’ll need to provide lots of evidence of your knowledge, expertise and trustworthiness… and you’ll need to be able to prove it, with plenty of supporting documentation.

Prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that YOU are in it to help THEM… tell them how you’re going to do so… and give them every reason why they should trust you above all others.

If you’re writing to warm traffic, as in cases where your target audience has already been pre-sold on knowing, liking and trusting you… you’re fighting on much more of an even keel.

Such is the case if you have a network of partners standing by to promote you, with a ready and willing audience that trusts their recommendations.

You still need to prove what you say, but you can potentially do so in fewer words.

Finally, the best of all worlds is if you’re writing to incredibly hot traffic (your own list) that’s already been indoctrinated into your world.

They already know, like, and trust you. You simply need to present the right offer.

A short sales letter or a simple email may suffice.

Persuasion Guidepost #2: PURPOSE

What is the goal or objective of your copy?

Are you looking to generate an opt-in in exchange for a free lead generation magnet?

A sales lead or appointment for a service business that requires a phone follow-up?

Or a full-on sale for a mid-range information product?

You don’t need a 16-page sales letter to convince someone to give you their email address in exchange for a free report on a subject of interest to them.

But an advertisement or sales letter with the chief goal of making the sale must cover every facet of the product and offer, and overcome every objection a prospect may have.

As Stephen Covey said, “Begin with the end in mind.”

Persuasion Guidepost #3: PRODUCT

How much copy do you need to fully explain your product?

Great copy fully explores all the benefits delivered by a product. It leaves nothing out.

So it naturally follows that the more benefits a product has, the more copy is needed to fully explore it…

… To give shape and form to the amazing new life your prospect is going to experience the instant they become the proud new owner of your product…

… And to prove it delivers those benefits with testimonials, and other credibility devices.

Aside from benefits, longer copy allows you to overcome every possible objection.

The more complex or unusual the product, the more you need to explain it and relate it to the user by clearly demonstrating the benefits.

For example, longer copy is best for technical products that require a lot of explanation, so prospects thoroughly understand your product and why they need it…

… Also for higher cost products, in order to touch on all the reasons why it’s in your prospect’s best interest to make such an expensive investment now.

If your product or offer is simple, and requires little explanation, shorter copy will likely do.

Persuasion Guidepost #4: PRICE

How much of an investment are you asking your prospect to make?

Generally speaking, the cost of your product is directly proportional to the amount of copy needed to sell it.

The higher the price, the more copy required to justify that price.

The more consequential a purchase, the more worries and concerns you must overcome in the mind of your prospective buyer to set them at ease.

If your call-to-action costs no money, such as taking a free trial or signing up for a newsletter, it’s a simple matter of explaining the offer and getting the action.

More copy would likely just get in the way.

If it requires a considerable investment, your prospect will be intent on making a wise decision.

So you must fully get across the value of your product, while minimizing the price, by comparing the full value of the benefit your product delivers to what the problem is costing your prospect now if he fails to act.

You must provide all the copy needed to overcome his purchase inertia, and no more.

Persuasion Guidepost #5: PASSION

Are you targeting the right audience to begin with?

It’s relatively easy to get attention. It’s far more difficult to keep it for more than a second or two.

Experts differ on the length of the human attention span these days… with some sources placing it below that of a goldfish, at just 8 seconds.

Is that true?

I don’t know, but it’s hard to argue against the human attention span rapidly declining in our highly digitized world.

That’s led many to pronounce long copy dead.

It just doesn’t get read, they say… no one has the attention span, so why bother?

But as Howard Gossage, an advertising innovator during the Mad Men era of the 60s was fond of saying, “Nobody reads ads. People read what interests them. Sometimes it’s an ad.”

How else do you explain the lengthy 5,000-word-plus feature articles in the hundreds of magazines that populate store shelves?

If long copy didn’t work, magazines and newspapers would have long gone out of business.

The same is true with books.

Consider J.K. Rowling’s, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. A hefty 257,045 words.

And Stephen King’s, The Stand? Would you believe an astounding 472,376 words?

We read what is interesting to us. We ignore what is not.

The same is true with sales copy.

If we visit a website that’s relevant and useful to us, we’ll stop and read every word of the copy if it’s interesting enough.

Yes, even if it’s a sales page.

If it’s not, we’ll find something else to read.

And remember, the absolute best way to sell is to tell stories, and provide useful and helpful information in the copy itself.

By their very nature, stories take more words to tell.

So don’t worry about the 99% of people who won’t read your long copy. You’re not writing it for them. You’re writing it for the 1% of people who can make you rich.

Be unique. Be interesting. Tell lively, rich stories they can relate to.

Avoid stodgy, lifeless, and boring at all costs.

Above all, target the right market with a topic that deeply interests them.

So what side wins the long copy vs short copy debate? Maybe that’s the WRONG question…

In the final analysis, the only rule of copy is that there are no rules.

In one instance, short copy will triumph… in another, long copy will reign supreme.

Frankly, I think it’s time the “long copy/short copy” debate were dead and buried, because it’s entirely the wrong question to ask.

The real question is…

What will achieve the highest and best response for the situation at hand?